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EU hotspots - Budapest

Published
Sept. 28 2015 02:49 PM
By
Eleanor Ross

EU hotspots - Budapest

It’s a place where you can get cheap premises and reliable, well educated workers. Best of all, it bridges the gap between east and west Europe, bordering with Austria on one side and the Ukraine on the other. Most Budapesti’s speak another language, which is just as well as Hungarian is one of the hardest languages to learn in the world. Fact.

First, the elephant in the room. Hungary has the highest VAT in Europe (27 per cent), but prices are knee-buckling cheap if you’re used to Western European prices. Otherwise, the cheap premises (you can still buy a one bedroom apartment for £12,000), extremely fast wifi connectivity (it ranks 6th in the world for best value wifi), and a strong and established start up community.

Tax breaks are generous too - if you have a one person company and you earn less than $2,2500 per year, all you have to pay is $185 a month in tax. There are around 300 start ups in Budapest and there is a welcoming start-up family in the city. There’s no shortage of events either for those wanting to network further - Start-up Hungary run a jam-packed start-up event calendar and meetup groups for potential entrepreneurs include Skill Goulash, Budapest Hackathons, and Business Meetup.